THE Duke of Westminster is used to globe-trotting in a private jet but he's more likely to be suited and booted for a business meeting rather wearing combat fatigues.

The Duke who lives at Eaton Hall, near Chester, flew out on Monday of last week for a five-day official trip to Iraq and Afghanistan in his role as head of the Territorial Army.

But instead of sharing the RAF transport plane with hundreds of officers and soldiers for a long flight, he chose to spend £40,000 on hiring a Learjet and private pilot for the round trip.

The Mail on Sunday said he emerged from the air conditioned jet in Kuwait after a comfortable 10 hour flight.

At that point Major General Gerald Grosvenor, as the Duke is known in the Army, transferred to military aircraft and helicopters for security reasons and was flown to Basra in southern Iraq to meet reservists and regular troops.

It was here that the Duke found himself at the centre of a security alert when he visited the newly created Duke of Lancaster Regiment.

A suspect vehicle tried to enter the camp near Basra prompting the Immediate Response Team to swing into action complete with sniffer dogs to detect for explosives.

Although a full security alert was put into operation, no explosives were found and it is thought the scare was caused after the vehicle drove through the scene of a previous explosion.

The RAF then flew the 54-year-old Duke to the Helmand province of Afghanistan where Andrew Stockton, warrant officer II with the 32 Heavy Royal Artillery Regiment, from Milton Green, near Chester, recently lost part of his left arm after becoming involved in a shoot out with Taliban rebels.

There he had morale-boosting meetings with British commanders and soldiers.

Then the Duke, who is worth £6.6bn, was flown back to Kuwait where the Learjet was waiting to bring him back to the UK.

An Army source was quoted as saying: 'When you're that well off, it makes sense to catch a private jet, which can do the job faster and in considerably more comfort.'

The Duke was a Brigadier until he was promoted to Major General and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets) in 2004.

Defence minister Ivor Caplin said it marked the first occasion in modern times volunteers would be led by a two-star Major General.